Inteleon's Search and Rescue Agency
by ultrayoshi115
Summary: Takes place in a Mystery Dungeon inspired setting. The Ancient Arceus Plates have gone missing. James the Inteleon, an explorer known for his aloof attitude, must find the criminals responsible before they can find all of them. But he wont be able to do it alone. Read as James learns to work with others, or else the world will be in peril!


The Inteleon Search and Rescue Agency: An explorer guild that specializes on finding lost Pokémon and objects, as the name implies. Located in the outskirts of a peaceful town of Pokémon, it is the business of one particular explorer, James the Inteleon, an explorer who is known for going on missions and requests alone. Despite that it was being run in his small house, he liked to fashion this agency as a business and had the attitude to match. Today, in the morning, James received a usual request: find and rescue a lost Pokémon. However, what made this particular incident much more dire was that this was a kidnapping. Not only did James need to find the lost Pokémon, but also bring in who kidnapped him to the authorities. But while others would panic at the thought of fighting a potentially fearsome villain, James did not have this luxury. He set out to fulfill the request and nothing could stop that.

Leaving the small home he called an office, he entered a forest close to the town he lived near as it was the last known location of the missing Pokémon. The forest that James had to enter was what was known as a Mystery Dungeon. This was because some mysterious power made it so that its layout changes daily. That was the reason why explorers were called instead of police, as they often cannot afford to send officers into such an unpredictable location. The Pokémon living in these Mystery Dungeons were also well known for being quite hostile to anyone they come across, often going out of their way to attack anyone who entered their domain. This is the main problem that many explorers face, and why many operate in teams or duos, but James felt comfortable going it alone, despite the danger of facing multiple foes.

The forest was inhabited by a large variety of Pokémon, mostly consisting of grass types and the occasional normal type. James was experienced enough to know how to deal with them, knocking out the ones who attacked and ignoring the ones who minded their own business. Sometimes a Pokémon he would encounter would ask if they could join but James always turned them down. He didn't like working with anyone on missions, let alone with someone who is inexperienced. Eventually, after making his way deeper into the forest, he heard a faint cry in the distance. It was a familiar sound of despair, but also a signal that whomever he needed to rescue was near. Moving closer to the crying, he laid eyes on his targets: a little Snom and the Claydol that kidnapped him. The Claydol was a notorious criminal known for assaulting anyone he thought had even looked at him, but kidnapping a Pokémon was something unusual for him. Perhaps he wanted to up his criminal resumé, but whatever the reason, James didn't care. He was an evildoer and James had to stop him. Before the Claydol could notice him, James wanted to knock him out without him fighting back. Claydol was known for not sticking around before anyone could stop him. James didn't want to leave any chances of him either fighting back or running off, especially if there was a hostage that needed rescuing. Crouching down, he pointed towards Claydol with his finger and focused. With a precise shot aimed for the head, James fired a Snipe Shot that hit its mark, knocking Claydol out cold. With a loud thud, the Claydol fell to the ground; loud enough that it spooked the Snom out of crying. Looking around, the tiny bug saw his savior standing over his now unconscious tormentor.

"Mister, are you here to save me?" the Snom asked.

"Yes. Your mother is worried. Come along, let's not keep her waiting." James responded in a curt manner. He knelt down and stretched out his hand to allow the one-foot-long Snom climb into his palm. Afterwards he went over to unconscious Claydol, unnerving the Snom a little bit. Unfortunately for Snom, James couldn't just leave the criminal behind. Part of the job was to bring him in to the police, after all. James took out his explorers badge, the only real proof that he is an explorer these days, and held it up into the sky. A pillar of light came from above and one second later they were at the entrance of the forest. No one could explain the mysterious power that did this, and quite frankly it was too convenient to argue against. Waiting for them at the entrance was the local police force, a squad of Magnemites lead by a Magnezone.

"I found the criminal and the victim, officers." James stated.

"Thank you, explorer. Any minute longer and we were going to go in ourselves." The Magnezone responded.

"That wouldn't have been good for any of you. A single explorer can get more done in forests than a full squad. If Claydol saw all of you coming at once he could have used Snom as a hostage. Or worse, he could have used Earthquake and knocked all of you out."

"Well, explorer, I would like you to have some faith in me and my squad."

"I mean no offense to you or your squad. I simply feel that it's easier to get things done alone in these situations. If you'll excuse me, I have to return Snom to his mother. Have a good day, officer."

Snom's mother, Frostmoth, was waiting for them back at his house/office. The only other employee at the Inteleon Search and Rescue Agency was an Alcremie named Candice. She was a mint flavored Alcremie with strawberries. She was James's only friend and acted as a secretary to him, taking care of things around the office while he is away, such as sorting out requests he receives and tidying up the place. Although it was her job, she was always happy to help James back in the day when he was starting out as an explorer, and she is the only person that James is willing to work with willingly; that is, as long as she doesn't join him on missions. He does like his solitude when he is out there, after all, for reasons unknown to everyone. Candice was comforting the Frostmoth, giving her a slice of some cake she baked when James left in the morning. It had been a little past noon when James walked in the building.

"Mrs. Frostmoth, I have returned with your son."

"Oh, thank you so much James. I don't know how I could ever thank you for this."

"No thanks are necessary; this is all a part of the job."

Candice went over to the Snom and asked, "Would you like some cake?". The Snom nodded yes and Candice put a plate down for him to enjoy. James decided to help himself to some as well. He did enjoy Candice's baking skills even if he had to clean the mess she inevitably made in the kitchen.

After they had their cake, Snom grabbed more because Snoms were notorious for having an appetite and Candice always made more than enough. Frostmoth took Snom and they said their goodbyes. With the clients leaving James decided that it was time to get back to work.

"So how have things been in the office today while I've been gone?"

"You don't need to call it an office, you know. This is your home after all. Well, mine too."

"That's beside the point. I don't do much living in here anyways when there's missions that need to be done. Speaking of which, did we get any more requests?"

"Nope! You are all done with the day. Although there was a letter that came for you that says urgent…"

"Wonder what it could be. Where did you leave it?"

"Left it on the desk in your room. Came in just before Frostmoth showed up."

"Alright, I'm gonna check it out. Please clean up the mess you made in the kitchen."

"Ok, but if I'm not done you gotta help me."

With a nod of agreement, James went into his room. There he saw the letter on the desk. The letter had a seal of a peculiar looking shield which James recognized. With a bit of regret James opened the letter and began to read it.

_Dear Inteleon Search and Rescue_

_I hope this letter finds you well. Recently there have been a spree of thefts happening throughout the land. While this is not unusual in of itself, all of these incidents have something in common. Black feathers left behind and what exactly was taken. Each incident ended with the theft of one of the Ancient Plates of Arceus. So far six of these plates have been stolen, and that's assuming they haven't taken any that explorers haven't discovered yet. I fear that whoever is doing this has some nefarious plot for the world. I send this letter to you in hopes that you will join with my guild in our investigation of this villain. Please send us your reply soon, any time wasted could mean disaster for everyone._

_Signed, Arthur of the Sir'fetched Guild_

Processing the information, James made a decision in his mind and went over to the kitchen. Candice was still cleaning after herself when he walked into the room.

"So, what did the latter say, James?"

He explained what had happened and what the Sir'fetched guild requested.

"What are we gonna do then?"

"I want you to write up a reply, tell them that we decline this request, but we will begin our own investigation on our front. And if we find anything, we will share information, but ask them to do the same."

"Are you sure about this, James? This all seems kind of dire. Shouldn't we get as much help as we can?"

"We are going to get help. I'm just going to investigate this on my own. Trust me Candice, things will turn out fine."

"Oh, alright, I'll write your letter. But you gotta finish cleaning here."

"Deal."

With James having cleaned the kitchen, a common occurrence, all things considered, and Candice sent the letter through the Delibird Delivery, the duo called it a day and went to sleep.

The next morning, they received an urgent request. A museum in a town nearby had been robbed. James went over to see what had happened, hopefully to see if this was related to what he had learned yesterday. Outside the museum was the local police force, mostly Magnemites and Magnezones but also some Herdier, forming a perimeter around the building. Amongst the officers was the chief of police, a Stoutland. James went to speak with him to get some info.

"Chief, I am James of the Inteleon Search and Rescue. I have been hired by the owner of this establishment to find the thief."

"Ah, James, I have heard about you. Well, come on through I'll take you to the owner." With a bark from the chief, the Magnemites moved to let them pass. Inside the building was Herdier sniffing out the area, looking for clues. At the exhibit that housed the missing item was the owner, a Copperajah.

"Hello, Mr. Copperajah. I am James of the Inteleon Search and Rescue. You hired me to find the criminal."

"Oh, yes! I have been waiting for you. My poor museum has been desecrated. I desire retribution! I hope you can find this filthy thief and bring whomever they are to justice!"

"I'm going to ask you to calm down. Now, do you know exactly what was taken?"

"Oh, right. Apologies. I am just so heated over this. The artifact that was stolen was the Iron Plate, my pride and joy."

James eyes lit up upon hearing this information. Then he turned towards the chief. "Stoutland, sir, have any of your men found black feathers in the area."

"Why, yes they did. Why?" Stoutland wondered.

"This could be related to similar incidents happening across the land. Tell me. Where were these feathers found?"

"They were found near the entrance and more were found outside. They seemed to be leaving a faint trail towards the nearby forest. Do you think that whoever did this left them behind on purpose?"

"I cannot say, but it's my only lead. If you'll excuse me, I'll follow where that trail leads."

"Wait, let me send a squad with you."

"There is no time. I need to leave now or I might lose the trail."

"Well if you say so, I'll have my men investigating the area, maybe find more clues."

With a nod, James rushed into the nearby forest. Unusually, there were very few Pokémon harassing him at every corner, like what typically happens on his missions. James thought this was odd but considered himself lucky. Eventually deep into the forest the trail of feathers went cold. James looked at his surroundings, hoping to find a new lead. Then he heard the rustling of leaves above him. Looking up, he saw a Corviknight with talons stretched out, diving towards him. James quickly moved out of the way and fired his Snipe Shot at her, but she dodged, quickly taking off and hiding amongst the treetops. James blindly fired his shots in the air but could not find her location.

"So, tell me, why did you leave the feathers? Is it supposed to be some kind of calling card? Or do you want people to follow you for a fight?"

"I was seeing if anyone would ever be foolish enough to try and stop me." James heard from directly above. Unable to see where she came from this time, Corviknight's pounce was successful and James was pinned to the ground. "As you can see, fools do exist."

Before James could retort, Corviknight slammed her head into his, knocking him out cold.

The next thing James heard was the sound of someone calling his name. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw Candice sporting a worried look on her face.

"Candice…? What…are you doing…here?"

"A couple of hours after you left, I had a horrible feeling come over me. So, I left to try and find you. I asked the nice police officers if they knew where you went. They pointed me in this direction and I eventually found you here."

"I thought I told you…not to come with me on missions." James attempted to stand up but the pain in his head intensified.

"Hey, I used to be your partner remember? I know my way around Mystery Dungeons just like you do." She handed him an Oran Berry from her pack. "Your bag's been emptied out. Looks like someone robbed you while you were here. It looks like you took a big bump in the head. What happened to you?"

James ate the berry and the pain started to fade. He was able to sit up and he began explaining what happened up to this point.

"I can't believe I let her get the best of me. This shouldn't have happened."

"Well, no one is perfect. And you can't do everything alone you know. That's what I'm here for." Candice helped him up and gave him another berry to help his pain. James sighed. He knew that at this point it would be hard for him to convince her to leave him on his missions anymore. Taking out his explorers badge, the two were teleported out of the forest. James went back to the museum and told Copperajah what had happened.

"How horrible! I am very sorry to have that happen to you." Copperajah said solemnly

"No apologies are necessary. I failed in my mission. You won't have to pay me anymore, and I wouldn't except it anyways. But mark my words, sir; I will find that Plate and return it to you."

With that said, James left the crime scene ashamed at his failure. It wasn't often that he failed, but even the most minor defeat rings heavy in his heart. Candice was waiting for him outside and the two went back home. James said nothing during the trip home, regardless of what Candice said to him. When they reached the house James finally spoke.

"Candice, I need you to write up a letter."

"Oh? What do you want me to put?"

"I need you to inform the Sir'fetched guild that I would like to request a meeting. I need to tell them what happened."

"Okay, anything else?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, you could say that you want to team up to solve this."

James shot her a glare, then sighed. "I'll think about it. Just don't put that in the letter."

James then went into his room to turn in for the day. He needed to process what exactly had happened. Vowing to himself that he wouldn't let that Corviknight get the better of him next time, he drifted off to sleep.

**Authors Note**

**This is just an idea I've had in my head for a bit. The Sword and Shield Pokémon are some of my favorite so I wanted to try to write a story about some of them in a Mystery Dungeon setting since those games are cool too. And hey, we are gonna get a remake of the first one so that's neat. Chapter was edited by geckogirl315 on Twitter**


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